Goodguy's Northwest Nationals - Banzai Run to Spokane

Sometimes all it takes to put the wheels in motion is a little spark. Since we ran Al Ming's '65 Chevy short Fleetside from Spokane, Washington, in the Readers' Trucks section a year ago, we have not only attended the Spokane Goodguys show held August 18-20, but we've also shot 11 truck features while we were there as well.

The snowball started rolling when we phoned Al to get a little more information about his truck. The next thing you know we were talking about his future plans to swap out his punched-out 283 for a 383 stroker and upgrade his suspension and brakes with the latest goodies from Jim Meyer Racing Products. Knowing Jim Meyer is located in Oregon, which is next door to Washington, we asked Al to tell us a little more about the custom classic truck scene in the Northwest. That was all it took. Before anyone could say, "You'd have to be crazy to drive 2,700 miles in a weekend," we were on our way.

We checked out a brand-new '06 Harley-Davidson F-150 from the Ford Motor Company's press fleet and hit the road late Thursday night. By the time the sun had risen on Friday morning, we were almost at the top of California, heading into Oregon. Somehow it was a whole bunch longer than it looked like on the map, but by Saturday morning we had rolled into Spokane right on time. From the very instant we spotted the Goodguys' banners at the front gate, it was clear that our journey was well worth the drive. There were super nice up-to-'72 customized vintage trucks from all over the Western states and provinces. It wasn't unusual to see Montana, Wyoming, Alberta, and British Columbia plates in with the mix of Washington and Oregon vehicles.

This is the first time Custom Classic Trucks has covered the Spokane show, but one thing is for sure: it will not be the last. A special thanks to all the people who shared their hospitality with us while we were there, and we hope to see you again next year. For more information about the next Great Northwest Nationals, log onto www.good-guys.com. CCT